President of India’s Message on the Occasion of World Tuberculosis Day

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in his message on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, which is observed every year on March 24, has said:-

"On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, I urge all Indians to work unitedly to bring an end to the scourge of Tuberculosis (TB) within our country.

TB is a major health problem which afflicts mainly the young and working population of our country. It is unfortunate that in India even today one person dies every two minutes due to this menacing disease. There is urgent need to build public awareness about the curability and prevention of this disease. Research and development in the treatment regime for this disease also has to be up-scaled.

I am happy to know that the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme has been able to test 86 million persons, treat 19 million patients and save 3.4 million lives since its inception in 1993.

On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, I call upon all stakeholders to rededicate their efforts for achievement of the goal of Zero TB deaths in our country in the shortest possible time”.

This release issued at 1400 hrs.